This theoretically oriented article draws on the author's previous research, which examined language policy and planning (LPP) of the University of Cape Town within the context of post-apartheid transformation driven by need to redress inequalities of the past, and demands of globalization. Drawing on critical linguistics, but indicating limitations of this approach, and recognizing complex interrelationships between LPP levels, this paper embeds discussion of LPP in higher education within a meta-theoretical framework of sociocultural theory by employing conceptualization of language policy as a mediatory tool. Illuminating theoretical discussion with examples drawn from the data, the article examines possibilities that sociocultural perspective opens up for language policy analysis. In that sense, it contributes to the ongoing discussion that aims to fill in theoretical gap regarding problematic dialectic between policy and practice.